My week ahead, 16 - 21 September 2013

Monday 16 September, 6pm – Labour Group Meeting

Wednesday 18 September, 6pm – Ipswich Borough Full Council meeting, Ipswich Corn Exchange

Thursday 19 September, 6pm – North East Ipswich Partnership Group meeting
7pm – North East Area Committee meeting, St John’s Church, Cauldwell Hall Rd

Saturday 21 September, 10am – Labour campaigning, South East Ipswich

It may be the start of the Party conference season 9if you can still count the Lib Dems as a party) but it is till busy back here in Ipswich, on Wednesday we have Full Council and Thursday our latest North East Area committee meeting.

All the talk this week has been about the Town Centre with both the competition the design a revamped Corn Hill and the view of consultants that we should concentrate on the Westgate end of town and decide that both the Mint and Merchant quarter are not suitable for retail alone. I for one have always been sceptical about linking the town centre and the Waterfront, but no surprise to find the local paper and Ben Gummer still keen on linking the two (the main development in the Merchant Quarter is based on the sale of the Archant offices. Slightly more surprising was the negative response of Ipswich Central.

We can all argue about which scheme we should focus on but I would expect all those involved to agree that we need to concentrate on just one scheme rather than 3 or 4.

Here in the North East we have our own potential new development with the NHS submitting a planning application for the St Clement’s site – we have been expecting this for a while and I am sure it will be a topic at this week’s area committee.